Frances Ethel Gumm, 10 June 1922, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA, d. 22 June 1969, Chelsea, London, England. The Gumms were a theatrical family. Parents Frank and Ethel had appeared in vaudeville as Jack and Virginia Lee, and later, with the addition of their first two daughters, Mary Jane and Virginia, they appeared locally as The Four Gumms. Baby Frances
Read more

Barbra Joan Streisand, 24 April 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. A celebrated actress, singer, and film producer, from childhood Streisand was eager to make a career in showbusiness, happily singing and playacting for neighbours in Brooklyn, where she was born and raised. At the age of 15, she had a trial run with a theatrical company in upstate New
Read more

29 June 1922, Newton, Massachusetts, USA, d. 21 November 2001, Los Angeles, California, USA. After studying music at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Burns worked with several late swing-era bands, including Charlie Barnets, as both pianist and arranger. His best-known period was as a member of Woody Hermans First Herd, during which time he was not only on
Read more

Bernadette Lazzara, 28 February 1948, Ozone Park, Queens, New York City, New York, USA. Often called the finest singing actress since Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters is certainly one of the few leading ladies of the last decade or so whose name on a Broadway marquee can cause box-office queues to form before the show has gone into previews. She was tap-dancin
Read more

1 December 1945, Aiea, Hawaii, USA. As a singer, comedienne and actress, Midler rose to fame with an outrageous, raunchy stage act, and became known as The Divine Miss M, Trash With Flash and Sleaze With Ease. Her mother, a fan of the movies, named her after Bette Davis. Raised in Hawaii, as one of the few white students in her school, and
Read more

21 April 1949, Northport, Long Island, New York, USA. An actress and singer who left several well-known Hollywood and Broadway stars feeling bitterly disappointed and distraught when she won the role of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webbers 1993 London production of Sunset Boulevard. LuPone made her stage debut, tap dancing, at the age of four, and later took dancing c
Read more

Julia Elizabeth Wells, 1 October 1935, Walton-On-Thames, Surrey, England. The former Julia Wells changed her surname to Andrews following her mothers remarriage to song and dance man Ted Andrews. After singing lessons with Madam Lillian Stiles-Allan, which formed her precise vocal style and typically English delivery, Andrews made her professional debut in her parents&
Read more

Formed by Neil Tennant (10 July 1954, North Shields, Northumberland, England; vocals) and Chris Lowe (b. Christopher Sean Lowe, 4 October 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire, England; keyboards) in 1981, this highly inventive UK duo owes their long-term career to the ability to bridge melodic pop and dance music with intelligence and style.Lowe studied as an
Read more

Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, 16 January 1909, Astoria, New York, USA, d. 15 February 1984, New York, USA. One of the most celebrated ladies of the Broadway musical stage, a dynamic entertainer, with a loud, brash, theatrical singing style, flawless diction, and extravagant manner, who usually played a gutsy lady with a heart of gold. Merman worked first as a secretary, then sang
Read more

Elaine Bickerstaff, 5 March 1951, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England. An actress and singer, often called the first lady of contemporary British musical theatre, Elaine Paige was trained at the Aida Foster Stage School in Golders Green, north London. She had already appeared in several stage musicals in the 60s and 70s, including The Roar Of The Greasepaint-The Smell Of The Crow
Read more

8 January 1937, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales. A thrilling, highly emotional singer, whose career has spanned some 40 years. Her early jobs included work in a factorys wrapping and packing department, while playing working mens clubs at weekends. After touring the UK in revues and variety shows, Lancashire comedian Al Read included her in his 1955 Christmas Show at L
Read more

Formed in London, England in 1980, this all-female pop trio originally comprised Keren Woodward (2 April 1961, Bristol, England), Sarah Dallin (b. 17 December 1961, Bristol, England) and Siobhan Fahey (b. Siobhan Marie Fahey, 10 September 1958, Dublin, Eire). After singing impromptu at various parties and pubs in London, the trio was recorded by former Sex Pistols drummer Pa
Read more

Cherilyn Sarkisian La Pierre, 20 May 1946, El Centro, California, USA. Cher began working as a session singer in an attempt to finance an acting career. She recorded with producer Phil Spector as a backing vocalist, having become romantically attached to his studio assistant and PR man Sonny Bono. After releasing two singles under the name Caesar And Cleo, the duo then achie
Read more

Doris Von Kappelhoff, 3 April 1922, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. One of popular musics premier post-war vocalists and biggest names, Kappelhoff originally trained as a dancer, before turning to singing at the age of 16. After changing her surname to Day, she became the featured singer with the Bob Crosby Band. A similarly successful period with the Les Brown Band saw her rec
Read more

17 January 1927, Columbia, South Carolina, USA. The daughter of a white dirt farmer and a black Cherokee mother, Kitt was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina. After being given away by her mother she was raised in Harlem, where after a period of struggle she ended up attending the High School for Performing Arts. She later joined Katherine Dunhams famed dancing
Read more